Creative Commons and the world of the Web

Anyone who knows my “other side” (not the Civil War-focused side, but the Web-obsessed side) knows that I’m a nut (“fanatic” sounds too scary… then again, maybe “nut” does too) when it comes to creative expression on the Web. I think I become more so with each passing day. I’m also quite obsessed with what the Web environment means in terms of a wide open “field of expression and interaction” for historians (as opposed to the more limited and rather “conclusive” field of expression in the practice of print). I could go on and on about this, especially the “interaction” part, but as this is a major issue in my thesis, I’ll hold back for now.

Anyway, because of my digital rhetoric course, I have been exposed to some rather interesting subject matter focused on copyright laws and their failings and inability to transfer to practice in the Web. I’ve read Lawrence Lessig’s Free Cultureand now I’ve been introduced to Creative Commons. Without giving my opinion or “spilling the beans,” I’ll just recommend to those who aren’t yet familiar, take a virtual walk around the Creative Commons site and see what it means to you in terms of copyright and its applications in the Web. If you don’t mind, drop in a comment to let me know what you think. I’m just curious to see how others think it applies (or does not apply) to their respective practices in the Web.

I’m not able to keep up with as many ACW blogs as I’d like to, and there are a few that I’d like to check more than others. Just not enough hours in the day I guess.

Your blog is one that I’d like to dedicate more time to. The quality of your writing and the nature of your insights and perspectives are really in the top-tier of the ACW blogs. I’ve really enjoyed your insiders view of reenacting and its didactic perils (the “officers call” in the midst of Pickett’s Charge struck a familiar note) as well as your perspectives on how we remember, or remember remembering, the ACW.

The other day you and I talked about the potential for the Internet to become the most important invention since the printing press. I honestly believe that this is an idea whose time has come.

For your readers, I highly recommend that they take advantage of a truly unprecedented opportunity. Thanks to Kevin’s blog, I discovered that Yale University is offering free courses online. One of the courses offered is a course on the Civil War taught by David Blight. There are twenty seven lectures. So far I have listened to two of the lectures, and the issues that we have all been discussing are covered in full detail and in context. I think that it is really important to teach history within the broader framework of a liberal arts education, which I am sure that it is. Blight brings into the discussion not only data, but the thoughts and perspectives on the human condition itself as expressed by writers and thinkers from all eras, and this helps to ground the history of the war for me in a context that transcends the culture wars, which are costing us dearly. At any rate, listening to these lectures is really a must for students of the Civil War, in my opinion, and as I stated, a truly rare opportunity. The link is oyc.yale.edu.

Thanks for pointing this out. The Web is offering opportunities that were unimaginable several years ago. It also offers a new platform for dynamic uses of text. This is great from the viewpoint of an historian.

When I came into my current graduate program, in many of my initial projects I focused on digital history in terms of transfering traditional practice (with a little tweaking because of the capabilities offered through database constuction) to the Web. However, within the last year, that view has changed dramatically. I am now very interested in how historians need to modify practice significantly to take full advantage of the potential of the Web… and thus my current thesis (see details here). :-)

That is fascinating, Robert. I feel certain that you will succeed. It is time for universities to open their doors (or, in this case, their “windows”, lol) It is truly a democratic–and a visionary–idea, and I applaud Yale for doing it–and I applaud you on your choice of topics for your thesis.

Thanks. I think it’s going to be difficult to convince some traditional practictioners of the academic relevance of, for example, blogging (especially as credit toward something like tenure). Nonetheless, it’s an argument that I think I am better prepared to deal with now that I’ve gone through some rather mind-opening courses.